Directors-in-Dialogue

Boards and Technology: The Competitive Risk and Promise of Exponential Technologies

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Executive Summary

Technology has become a game changer across all industries. Its rapid pace of change has resulted in significant ambiguity for Board Directors to grapple with. Competitive disruption, even for non-technological or traditional industrial companies, has come in the form of rapidly changing markets, customer behaviour, and pricing -- all driven by underlying changes in the technological capabilities of consumers, markets, regulators, competitors, upstarts, or all of the above.

Programme Details

The session provided the current thinking on how Board Directors should approach technological change, how to ensure that the board is sufficiently informed about relevant emerging technologies, and how it can best help management prepare for both the opportunities and risks posed. It covered proven methods that directors can use to efficiently and effectively incorporate "technology thinking" into the overall strategy planning process.

Facilitated by Dan Siciliano and based on two decades of his academic research and practical experiences as a senior executive in Silicon Valley, the session provided practical strategies for directors to hone their abilities to identify and address critical corporate issues that are materially impacted by technological change. He will work closely with eminent Asian practitioners to address the following topics:

Exponential technologies

Technology's impact on consumer and competitor behaviour

"Big Data" and how it matters

The looming spectre of cyber risk

Your Facilitator

Dan Siciliano

Dan Siciliano is the faculty director of the Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford University and Professor and Associate Dean at Stanford Law School. He was co-founder, CEO and Executive Chairman of LawLogix Group, Inc. – ranked several times as one of the Top 100 fastest growing private companies in the United States. Prior to this, he was included in the "Directorship 100" – a list of the most influential people in corporate governance. He is the co-director of Stanford's Directors' College and Board member of Silicon Valley Directors' Exchange. Furthermore, he has served as a governance consultant to the Boards of many Fortune 1000 companies including Google, Microsoft and Fedex, as well as an angel investor and consultant to companies in Silicon Valley, Hong Kong and Latin America.

"The session has affirmed my own tracking of technological developments & the positive impact on my own industry & the insights on how similar trends are re-shaping other sectors are useful."

Andrew Tan, Chief Executive, Maritime and Port Authority of Singapore

"I really enjoyed the forum! The concept is important in making future decisions. The speakers are outstanding and the networking is very pleasant! Well done!"

Pramukti Surjaudaja, Director, OCBC Bank

"The session has reinforced in me the need to be alert to disruptive innovations, which can come from unexpected quarters. In countering such 'disruptive innovations' we must not be afraid to embrace the new technologies and discard old paradigms."